Nikita: Think Amanda Is Scary? Get Ready for Percy

Amanda's shockingly violent turn at the end of last week's Nikita is just an appetizer for the evil Percy will be serving up in the final two episodes of the season.

"I think Percy is most impressive in Thursday's episode (9/8c on the CW)," executive producer Craig Silverstein tells TVGuide.com. "It really shows just how smart Percy is as an antagonist. Your hero is only as good as your villain is evil."

Earlier this season we've seen Percy (Xander Berkeley) support Alex (Lyndsy Fonseca), commending her work and deciding not to "terminate" her despite Amanda's recommendation. In light of the new damning evidence that Alex is Nikita's mole, however, Percy turns on her. Once again, she's strapped into a chair for some not-so-gentle, Division-style questioning.

But getting to the infamous Nikita (Maggie Q) through Alex is just one of Percy's goals. We'll also soon get a glimpse of the bigger, insidious game he's been playing all along. "If Percy has been light in any way before, you'll see that may have been of his choosing," Silverstein says. "Percy is always controlling his reaction. He's been off and busy."

Check out this teaser promo for "Betrayals":

"Percy got to where he is because he really doesn't trust anybody," says Silverstein. "He created the black boxes because he doesn't trust the people who empowered him wouldn't take him out if it got too embarrassing. Also, I personally think that he's a little bit wary of Amanda."

Wary he may be, but the two Division leaders appear to have an understanding, something that Berkeley acknowledges is discussed on set. "I think they've clearly had a past," Berkeley says. "They've been there together at Division for a long time so that's something that certainly could have happened. Some people would call it romantic, but others would call it 'mutual exploitation.'"

Berkeley also has other theories about Percy's past that will make him the ideal -- and dangerous -- Division leader. "Clearly he's well-educated and knows how to take care of himself," the actor says. "He has some sort of relationship with the military that has allowed him to be put in a position of authority by a shadowy wing of a defense department, and if he's trained people for years, I'm sure he's been through some of this training himself."

Berkeley doesn't believe his character is evil, despite his fighting the so-called good guys. "I think he thinks he's helping to maintain and protect the American way of life," he says. "In his big picture, his belief is that you have to be willing to sacrifice a little in order to save a lot. In each of the cases, in his mind, things are justified on that basis. It's a bit Machiavellian, but I'm able to bear up to the logic."

"He is a paranoid guy who started out doing what he thought was right and that's become a little bit perverted," Silverstein says. "He's going to get what's due him. Percy keeps everything incredibly close to the vest. That's what makes him so good and also what I think is going to get him in trouble."

"Betrayals," Nikita's penultimate episode of Season 1, airs Thursday, followed a week later by the finale, "Pandora," on May 12 at 9/8c on the CW.